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Te’o leaving Leinster for Worcester

Date published: December 22 2015

Worcester Warriors have announced the signing of Leinster centre Ben Te'o ahead of the 2016/17 season.

Te'o made the switch from Rugby League in 2014, where he enjoyed a fine career with Australian sides Wests Tigers, Brisbane Broncos and South Sydney Rabbitohs – the latter with whom he won the National Rugby League (NRL) title.

Auckland-born Te'o represented Samoa in the 2008 Rugby League World Cup, scoring twice in his sole appearance against France, while he also featured seven times for Queensland in the Australian State of Origin series.

Te'o, who is English qualified, amassed an impressive 43 tries in 151 appearances before switching codes to join Leinster and since making his debut in October 2014, he has gone on to make 23 appearances scoring five tries for the Irish outfit.

Warriors Director of Rugby Dean Ryan said: "Ben is a really exciting talent and has proved he is more than capable of transferring his skills from League to Union.

"His experience and power in the centre will add further depth to our midfield and we're looking forward to him joining up with the side."

Te'o, 28, said: "Warriors are in a very similar stage in their playing and cultural development that I found when I first joined the Rabbitohs and I look forward to making a similar contribution at Sixways.

"The investment in facilities and infrastructure is impressive and after speaking with Dean, it is clearly a xlub which is on the up.

"Everything is in place for Worcester to become a successful club competing in the top tier and I'm excited about getting started at Sixways.

"Finally I'd like to thank Leinster for giving me the opportunity to go back to union and to the fans for their support in particular when out injured. I look forward to finishing the season with Leinster as strong as possible."